Vietnam is carrying out COVID-19 vaccination for front line workers. Photo: MoH

Dr. Vijay Sakhuja, consultant expert to Kalinga International Fund, New Delhi (India), wrote an article praising Vietnam as a bright spot in efforts to fight the pandemic effectively and diversify vaccine supplies.

In his article, Dr. Vijay Sakhuja said that in Vietnam, there were only over 300 cases and no deaths caused by COVID-19 for 4 consecutive months, from October 2020 to January 2021. This is an impressive achievement.

However, the third wave of the epidemic appeared in Vietnam in late January, spreading to 13 localities. The Government was back on high alert and ordered the school to be closed, limited people's movements and increased virus testing.

In addition, the Government also calls on people to strictly implement 5K message of khau trang (facemask), khu khuan (disinfection), khoang cach (distance), khong tu tap (no gathering) and khai bao y te (health declaration), in order to efficiently protect nearly 100 million people from COVID-19.

Vietnam announced that it had signed a contract to buy the AstraZeneca vaccine under the Covax program and would receive nearly 4.8 million doses in the first half of 2021.

Another supply of 30 million doses will be made available for domestic vaccination and, since the end of February 2021, Vietnam received the first batch of more than 117,000 doses to be administered to frontline anti-pandemic workers. It is worth mentioning that Vietnam is also developing its own four COVID-19 vaccines.

Notably, Vietnam once again controlled the third wave of COVID-19, largely thanks to the consensus of the entire political system and the joining hands of the Vietnamese people.

Vietnam is really a bright spot in dealing with the pandemic and promises to be a safe destination in the near future, the professor said.

Meanwhile, at the unofficial ASEAN Ministers' Online Meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh affirmed to Brunei, the President of ASEAN in 2021, and ASEAN member countries that this country will support ASEAN's efforts in post-pandemic recovery, pandemic response and the use of the ASEAN Response Fund on COVID-19 to buy vaccines for the public and bring the ASEAN Regional Medical Supplies Reserve into operation.

Earlier, Indian scholar SD Pradhan recently wrote an article in the Times of India page praising Vietnam's anti-epidemic achievements.

In the article, the Indian scholar wrote that Vietnam, as ASEAN Chairman in 2020, also took some timely steps to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-February 2020, Vietnam also warned of the danger of SARS-CoV-2 and called for regional and international cooperation.

After that, Vietnam hosted an online ASEAN + 3 Special Summit on COVID-19 response and asked countries to take the necessary steps to prevent the pandemic, and agreed with parties to exchange experiences and mutual support in medical supplies.

In addition, Vietnam has participated in several online meetings with the international community and shared experiences and proposed measures to cope with the pandemic, establishing an ASEAN Response Fund for COVID-19.

Vietnam provides necessary medical equipment and protective gear, not only in the region but also to countries in Asia, Europe and America. The Southeast Asian country has emerged as an effective disease control model with very few cases in the country.

The ASEAN Chairmanship 2020's support to other countries showed that Vietnam attached great importance to international responsibilities, not just its national interests./.

Compiled by BTA